The first child of Mrs. Johnston was a bastard because he was conceived immorally. This is because they got married once they knew they were going to have a kid. When the narrator describes Mrs. Johnston with “that woman, with a stone in place of a heart”, he is incorrect because she seems very loving and affectionate towards each and every one of her children. We, the audience need to bear in mind her personal living conditions and circumstances due to lack of income and no father figure/ head of household for the children to look up to.
In the household Mrs. Johnston creates a sense of hope in the children’s mind for them to look forward to something. She creates this sense of hope by talking positive. She will tell the kids when she gets a better job with a higher income they will get better food. Mrs Johnston consoles her children by creating a sense by creating a happy spirit (dancing to reflect signs of happiness).
In the play we get to see the happy and sad side of Mrs. Johnston. She seems personality very caring and positive. Even though Mrs. Johnston has been given the news that she is having twins, this does not stop her from loving her children because she declares strongly,
“I love them. I love the bones of every one of them.”
When Mrs. Lyons proposes the idea of Mrs. Johnston giving up one of her twins, at first she feels unsure about the whole idea. This is evident through her incomplete utterances “but look. I don’t know if…” Mrs. Lyons emotionally manipulates Mrs. Johnston in this terrible time she is going through and reminds her of the idea that she is being threatened by the welfare. Mrs. Lyons attempts to make Mrs. Johnston think positively by saying that “if he’s with me you’ll still be able to see him each day as you come to work” Mrs. Lyons presents Mrs. Johnston with the idea that her son would have a much better life with herself “if he grew up here as our son…he could have everything”.
However this is why she may have done this for the benefit of the boy because she felt that Mrs. Lyons could provide for him much better then she could.
Mrs. Lyons breaks the promises with Mrs. Johnston which we made before receiving the child from her. Mrs. Lyons reminds Mrs. Johnston with the terrible deed that she committed by strongly stating the fact that “you sold your baby” and labels the whole act as a “crime”. We, the audience sympathize with Mrs. Johnston because she has lost her job and is now unable to provide for her children. We the audience get to observe the truth and lies made by Mrs. Lyons, which is why our sympathies lie with Mrs. Johnston. The milkman shows how hard Mrs. Johnston’s situation is when he states in act 1 scene 2 “well don’t look at me love I might be the milkman but its nothing to do with me. No money, no milk!” This shows that the Johnston’s do not have enough money to buy milk in which why the milkman states it has nothing to do with me. Kid one, “mam the baby’s crying. He wants a bottle where’s the milk?”, The kids ask the mother a question one after the other but the mother keeps her hopes high by singing to comfort her children.
When Mickey and Eddie are out playing and are stopped by the police woman the two are given different responses in different manners. The. Police woman creates double standards. She describes Mickey’s behavior as a “serious crime” and warns Mrs. Johnston about going to court. Where as on the other hand she describes Eddie’s behavior as a “prank” and subtly informs Mrs. Lyons in a more polite manner. The police woman also reminds Mrs. Lyons about her other son Sammy in act2 scene 7 “I warned you last time didn’t I Mrs. Johnston over your Sammy, didn’t I”. She talks about his behavior and threatens Mrs. Johnston that if it happens again she will go to court or the matter will get worse. Mickey finally gets a job at the factory due to his brother’s connections. Mickey does not appreciate that the job he got was through his brother Eddie but Mickey did not know about this. When Mickey finds out that he became employed due to his brothers position he is outraged. He has low self esteem and begins to doubt everything.
“I thought it was my job”.
In Liverpool life was very difficult in the sixties and seventies. People were “doing two split shifts and all overtime” people had to work day and night but no matter what job people carry out, they are still grateful they have the job. In the 1960’s Society didn’t mean anything to the working class because they were treated very unfairly unlike the middle class like you can see in the play.
Mickey has developed and become very insecure about his job, relationship with Linda and begins to doubt everything he has.
“Everything I thought was mine…is yours”.
Mickey feels as if his life is possessed by Eddie. Mickey’s character is very aggressive unlike Eddies. I think this is because Eddie and Mickey have different life chances in the play. Eddie is brought up in a middle class home and develops the expectations of his adopted parents. He goes to a good school and then on to university. This later leads to a career in management. The fact that he lives in a house on a hill suggests that his status is quite high. Conversely, Mickey’s life chances are very low. He is brought up in a poor environment and doesn’t have the same quality of education that Eddie does. He of course ends up with a low paid job with very few aspects for the future. Mickey feels powerless and helpless towards the end of the play. This is shown by the quotation he uses to express his feelings and also questions himself,
“I don’t have any power do I?”
Near the end of the play Mickey becomes very aggressive, short tempered and shouts when he becomes angry. He uses taboo language like the “F word” even though he doesn’t know the meaning of the word.
Willy Russell feels as if it was fate because it was hinted at the beginning of the play which gives us, the audience the idea that it was meant to be and their tragic death was to occur on the same day at the same time. This implies the idea that no matter where you are born and brought up or no matter how diverse a person’s life is, they will die at the same time. It’s inevitable. We see that superstition crosses class lines as both Mrs. Lyons and Mrs. Johnston worry about superstition. Most of the superstitious belief centre around the idea of twins, which historically has been linked with superstitious belief. Early on in the play we are introduce to the idea that is separated twin ever meet again that they will both immediately die. This actually proves to be true, as Eddie and Mickey both die right after they find out they are twins. The theme of superstition is also emphasized a great deal in the games of the children and the lyrics associated with them. For example, they talk about gypsies in the woods, crossing your fingers when you tell a lie, spitting.
Society plays a major role in shaping the lives of individuals. Some people have nothing to blame but society for the many different types of hurtful experiences they have been through in their life and how other people are so quick to judge another individual as a result of their physical appearance, their clothes, their mannerisms or way of speaking. In my opinion, Willy Russell has successfully shown how two people “of one womb” can be shaped into two completely opposite individuals, all because of the overshadowing impact that society plays in an individual’s life. This play has reflected on the idea how the lower classes are seen inferior to the middle class.
We also need to take into account the language barrier between the two brothers because they have been brought up in two different back grounds and have been taught different principles. Eddie seems to behave in a more socially acceptable manner whilst Mickey is louder.
We cannot blame the fate of the two brothers completely on superstition, neither can we say that it is completely due to the classes they were put in. in my opinion it is a mixture of both that leads to the tragic death of the brothers.
